Olfactory Recognition Memory in Mice Depends on Task Parameters

• Published in: Behavioral neuroscience Vol. 135; no. 3; pp. 347 - 353
• Main Authors: Buseck, Alison, McPherson, Katherine, Linster, Christiane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington American Psychological Association 01-06-2021
• Subjects: Animal; Animal memory; Male; Memory; Mental task performance; Mice; Object Recognition; Odor Discrimination; Odor recognition; Olfactory Perception; Recognition (Learning); memory span; odor object recognition; memory specificity; memory duration
• ISSN: 0735-7044; 1939-0084
• DOI: 10.1037/bne0000421

We use a simple two-trial odor recognition paradigm to test memory duration, span, and specificity in adult mice. Our paradigm allows mice to encode and/or recall multiple odors in one trial and necessitates no training or food/water deprivation. We show that this paradigm can be used for encoding and/or testing of multiple odors in single trials, leading to shorter behavioral testing. Using this simple paradigm, we show that mice can remember a single odor for up to 10 but no more than 15 min and two odors for up to 5 min. Mice could not remember 3 odors at any delays tested here. We also show that specificity for the encoded odor decreases as delay increases. Our results are important for setting baseline levels of testing for experiments in which memory parameters are expected to be modulated.